My present invention is that of a new and distinct cultivar of Aechmea fasciata which is the result of crossing two unpatented and distinct varieties of Aechmea fasciata.
Since 1826 when Aechmea fasciata was first introduced into horticulture, it has become the most popular and most widely sold of all bromeliads. Predominating among commercially grown Aechmea fasciata plants are those having dense white trichomes on the leaf surface, generally in visually striking barred patterns, giving a silvery appearance to the plants. These plants all bear sharp spines along the leaf edges. Approximately 15 years ago, an odd form of Aechmea fasciata of undetermined origin was introduced into the United States by the nursery Fantastic Gardens of Miami, Fla. This odd form differed from all other known varieties of Aechmea fasciata in that both the leaves and the bracts of the inflorescence were spineless. However, this form was not considered to be of commercial value because the leaves of the plant, both upper and lower surfaces, were dark green with few dense white trichomes on the leaf surface. As a result, the Fantastic Gardens form did not possess the striking, silvery appearance characterizing commercially accepted plants. Also, this form possessed leaves which were more narrow than the typical commercial plants of today. Plants of the Fantastic Gardens form were propagated only vegetatively through the division of the suckers produced at the base. All attempts to self-pollinate this form failed continually.
In 1986 I decided to cross-pollinate the Fantastic Gardens spineless form and the typical, commercially produced Aechmea fasciata having spines. From a thousand or so seeds sown, six of the seedlings showed a spineless leaf character. These were grown in cultivated places initially at Miami, Fla., and more recently at Goulds, Fla. They were grown under the same conditions as all other Aechmea fasciata plants that were being grown to be sold commercially, including the same potting mix, the same watering and fertilizer treatment, and subjected to the same growing temperatures. When the plants flowered, they showed the same spineless character of the inflorescence bracts as was possessed by the Fantastic Gardens spineless form. Of these six plants, one was selected by me as having the best combination of wide leaves bearing concentrated bands, or barring, of dense white trichomes presenting a striking silvery appearance and large inflorescence. It has been denominated Aechmea fasciata `DeLeon`. I have reproduced it asexually at Goulds, Fla., by division of basal suckers, with the characters remaining true to type. It has now proved to be suitable to asexual propagation by means of tissue culture.